For Sale: 1969 42' gb $20,000

A friend of mine told me there is a 69 GB 42 Classic in Hunting Harbour, CA that the current owner cannot complete his refurbish due to a shoulder injury. This is a boat that sat for many years and the current owner bought it as a project boat.

My friend said the main mechanical problem is leaking fuel tanks and the other major issues are cosmetic and electronics.

If you are interested, please PM me and I'll find contact information for the seller.

I have no interest other than to help keep a great woodie floating.

Here's another one ... in Alaska.

That looks like a 36. It's maybe a 65, 66 my guess. The grab rails below the windows stopped after that. Then they were above the windows. Life lines instead of teak rails too. That's a big project for someone.

The first GB36 was made in 1964. I always thought it was 1966 but a quick check of the GB site shows it to be 1964. The first GB42 was made in 1965.

The very first GB36s had the lifelines as did the very first GB32s. Another visual indicator that it's a very early GB36 is if it has a step down aft deck like the GB32. This was eliminated in the GB36 very soon after production began. The GB32 retained it all the way through to the end. I've only ever seen one GB36 old enough to have the step-down aft deck.

Good eye Marin.

Capthead, Marin,
Another interesting about this boat is that it's powered by 2 Perkins 4 cyl engines.

manyboats said:

Capthead, Marin,
Another interesting about this boat is that it's powered by 2 Perkins 4 cyl engines.

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Well, that would make for a little less crowded engine room. I wonder if it is a re-power or if the boat was special ordered that way? On the other hand, it is so old that those little engines may have been the original power. I don't know when American Marine started using Ford Lehman 120s. Spray was powered by a much larger engine so perhaps at the outset American Marine was using a variety of engines in their startup GB line.

I know there are a handful--- by which I mean very few--- GB32s that were built with a pair of FL80s (the 4-cylinder version of the FL120). One of them is, or was, in Vancouver, BC.

Marin those engines aren't small ...... your engines are just BIG. 3000lbs and 760 cubic inches. But I've got 4000lbs of ballast in my keel Hmmmmmm. Of course it depends on how fast/slow one wants to go and how much money he can afford for fuel.

Also some people realize the benefits of having a boat that isn't overloaded. Taken to an extreme one could have a boat too light w a quick uncomfortable motion and in some cases less seaworthy. But most boats of our type are probably less seaworthy due to weight. Many home builders make the mistake of building a boat too heavy. Not only in bigger engines, bigger fuel tanks and other tanks, batteries ect ect. but the whole boat. Too many think beefyness and strength is more important than performance. Some builders and most designers know how much "beef" is needed and stop there producing a boat that performs well, is strong enough and as seaworthy as it's intended to be.

Anyway the 36 GB in AK w the 2 4 cyl engines I think will be a better boat excepting the desires of some to run faster than 2 4 cyl engines can go. And lighter engines like Yanmars would be better yet ... objectively speaking.

Not sure where you got that Lehman displacement from... But I believe it's 254 cubic inches. My engine is 660 CI, and it's massive. 6000 pounds with the transmission.

Scott Welch
Island Eagle

IslandEagle said:

Not sure where you got that Lehman displacement from... But I believe it's 254 cubic inches.
Scott Welch
Island Eagle

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By the operations manual he FL80 is 254 cu in. The FL120 is 380 cu in. So if Eric is doubling the numbers because we have two engines, he's right.

Marin said:

By the operations manual he FL80 is 254 cu in. The FL120 is 380 cu in. So if Eric is doubling the numbers because we have two engines, he's right.

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Good point, I hadn't thought about doubling it.

Scott

Having two 6 cyl engines is like having a V12. One could view any twin engine Lehman 6 as a 760 cu in V12 and that's BIG. Packard had numerous V12s and they were often called "twin 6s". With the fuel and ignition systems (twin carbs and twin distributers) it was very much like having two sixes joined at the crank.

manyboats said:

Having two 6 cyl engines is like having a V12. One could view any twin engine Lehman 6 as a 760 cu in V12 and that's BIG.

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Not sure that's really accurate. Two sixes with their own power trains turning two different things is not the same as one twelve cylinder engine turning one powertrain and turning one thing.

Marin said:

Not sure that's really accurate. Two sixes with their own power trains turning two different things is not the same as one twelve cylinder engine turning one powertrain and turning one thing.

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agreed a big v12 spinning is way different then two six's......

My Ford Lehman diesels were made in Dagenham England and they are true wet sleeve engines unlike the Dorset or Dover Fords that Lehman marinized. Mine are also the smallest displacement being 6 cyl and 338 CI I think. Mine has Fuel Pincher on it. They are listed as 100, 110 HP so I get to choose. lol

manyboats said:

Having two 6 cyl engines is like having a V12. One could view any twin engine Lehman 6 as a 760 cu in V12 and that's BIG. Packard had numerous V12s and they were often called "twin 6s". With the fuel and ignition systems (twin carbs and twin distributers) it was very much like having two sixes joined at the crank.

Click to expand...

Just for geeks who like stuff like this:

Original multi-cylinder engines were made by stringing together multiple cylinders. Here's a four cylinder Kahlenberg: Fish Tugs Of The Greatest Lake

Before V-block engine technology was perfected, Detroit Diesel linked together multiple independent engines for higher horsepower in a compact space. The gearboxes had multiple input shafts, one for each engine. They came in Twin (two engines side-by-side), Tandem (two fore-and-aft), and the amazing Twin Tandem (four engines). Here's a tug with a Tandem: Tug Benjamin Elliot. The Twins were also used in the Sherman M4A2 tank.

However... that's not the end of the story.

After GM perfected V block technology, they took this to a whole new level. Through very careful engineering, the two ends of the V blocks interlocked. This means that a 16V-71 is in fact two 8V-71s linked together and sharing a single crankshaft. It has four cylinder heads, which are interchangeable with the 4-71.

It's all pretty amazing. Here's a good page if you want to learn more: The Detroit Diesel - the iconic American high speed two stroke diesel engine

Scott Welch
Island Eagle

Scott this is wonderful stuff and I enjoyed reading the DD history.

I highly recommend Scott's lower link in the last post to all even mildly inclined gearheads.

Thank you very much for sharing that Scott.